easyJet Frequent Flyer - it’s better than you imagined

For several years now, easyJet, one of the largest low cost airlines in Europe, has offered two frequent flyer schemes.  I thought it was time to review the benefits of both because a) one of the schemes isn't that well known and b) in 2023, easyJet dealt a big blow to (what I think) was one of the best flight packages you could buy, ironically making easyJet Plus even more valuable

Let's take a step back in time.  In 2011, Caroline McCall took the helm of what had already become a very successful airline.  easyJet was one of the founders of low cost flying in Europe back in the 90's but it was mostly off the back of developing new markets in leisure flying; those who previously couldn't afford to fly flag carriers and those who simply didn't need or want included meals and luggage.  Those corporate travellers with their champagne breakfasts and other business class benefits didn't really migrate to the low cost airlines, after all, why would they?  Newly crowned CEO McCall wanted to tune in to this more lucrative business market and set about understanding what would bring the business traveller to easyJet.  

easyJet Plus

You might be pleased to hear that you can easily earn the annual fee back with just three or four easyJet flights and why easyJet Plus is more valuable than ever before

What happened in 2023 to make easyJet Plus more valuable?

Well, up until 2023, if you bought an easyJet extra legroom seat, they threw in speedy boarding and you could bring both an underseat as well as overhead locker larger wheel-on case.  But that all changed when easyJet realised there was money to be made from that lucrative second bag fee - and boy do they charge for it now!

So how do I earn my fee back?

The short answer is, very easily..but let's look at what easyJet Plus offers first:

• Priority 'Speedy' Boarding - be the first to board, secure your locker space and get settled
• Fast Track security (at many but not all easyJet destinations)
• Second larger locker case 
• Select any premium seat, including front row, at the time of booking, for free 
• Dedicated Bag Drop for those checking a bag in 
• Earlier flight for free on the day of flying, if you arrive earlier than planned at the airport - no change fee
• 10% food and drink discount on-board
• Price Promise - if your fare drops after booking (and you get screen shots to prove it), you'll get a voucher for the difference 
• Partner offers - various discounts on airport parking and airport lounge bookings

What value I place on these benefits, based on easyJet pricing, if I was to buy each benefit:

• Speedy Boarding cannot be bought on its own - but I value this highly, personally
• Fast Track security can be bought with many airports and it ranges between £5 - £10 per sector, in my experience
• The second larger locker case can be added and it can be up to £45 per sector with easyJet
• Premium seats sell for anything up to £40 per sector - the bulk of my flying with easyJet is on 'mid haul' routes (eg ex-UK to the Canary Islands, Cyprus, Greece etc.) where easyJet charges maximum ancillary fees
• Dedicated bag drop can't be bought separately and I never check a bag in so it's of no value to me
• Earlier flight for free - this is where it gets interesting - recently I wanted to change to an earlier flight with British Airways on a UK domestic, and they quoted a £60 change fee plus difference in fare, even with my BA Gold card and even with a semi-flexible fare ie far from the cheapest fare buckets.  easyJet normally charges a £28 change fee if you do it in the mobile app but it's free with easyJet Plus - I use it a handful of times a year
• 10% food and drink discount on-board - it's a small sum but assume you'll save £1ish per sector
• Price promise - I rarely review my flight costs after booking so it's of negligible value to me
• Partner offers - nothing you can't get cheaper if you shop around so zero value to me

I fly with easyJet about 30 sectors a year, so a simple calculation gives me savings of up to £1000, based on the above, assuming I bought all of the benefits of easyJet Plus separately, for every sector

As always, your mileage may vary, as they say, but for anyone who travels with easyJet more than a handful of times per year, for just £185, it's a compelling offer.  I've had easyJet Plus for several years now and value it highly.

What is easyJet Flight Club?

In short, it's either something you'll reap the benefits of, or something you'll shrug your shoulders after the first year of membership and think "so what?"

Membership of easyJet Flight Club is by invitation only and easyJet no longer publishes how many sectors you need to fly to be wafted into their secret society (word is that easyJet isn't currently inviting new members, although my renewal in June 2023 came through without prompting).  There is no membership fee.  

Speaking personally, I've had easyJet Flight Club for five years straight - some years I've flown with them 30-odd times, sometimes more, sometimes less, and I've always had the golden email welcoming me back for another year.  You cannot buy your way into easyJet Flight Club, and nor can you seemingly gain membership with any certainty by making endless flights with easyJet

Here are the main benefits (and how I use it for maximum gain):

• Price Guarantee - find a similar flight with a similar airline cheaper and they'll refund you the difference and give you a 10% voucher for the difference 
• Price Promise - if your flight drops in price after booking, you'll get a refund of the difference for use on a future easyJet flight
• No change fees - if you want to change your flight including date, time and even route, this is a fabulous proposition that I have used time and time again.  What easyJet does, uniquely, is turn every flight into a credit.  For example, if you booked a flight from Manchester to Gran Canaria for £50, and you then decided you wanted to fly from Gatwick to Malta, easyJet takes what you paid for the first flight and simply applies it to the booking you want to swap to - regardless of route, date or time.  You just pay any fare difference (but no refunds if the new flight is cheaper).  It's very simple to use by calling the exclusive phone number you get in your welcome email.  I usually get through in less than three rings and I have always found the staff in the South African call centre to know what they're doing and get it right first time.  There are no change fees but more usefully, you can change your entire routing.  I love this benefit!

How do I value the benefits of easyJet Flight Club?

To be frank, I've never even tried claiming on the first two benefits.  I simply haven't got the time to do this.  The no change fee / change of route offering is really what makes Flight Club and is actually a lot more compelling than any of the flag carriers that I use.  Remember that BA £60 + fare difference change fee, even with a semi-flexible fare bucket?  With easyJet, that change would have cost me the fare difference only - or I could simply choose to fly somewhere else, or on another day, all free of fees, and there is no limit to the number of times you can change a booking

You could make a change of name with Flight Club free, right?

Well, yes, you could..until 2023 when that benefit was canned

Summary

In summary, as you've seen, having either easyJet Flight Club and/or easyJet Plus, offers the regular (or even semi regular) easyJet flyer just about everything they need to have a fairly decent experience.  It's true, there is no lounge access or blocked middle seat with either scheme, nor do you collect any form of mileage currency, but when you consider I pay an average of just £35 per flight with easyJet, you can't possibly expect a low cost airline to offer such things.  

For the purposes of illustration I have drawn some comparisons with the other airline I fly most often with, British Airways.  However, there are too many variables at play to conclusively recommend one  airlines' frequent traveller scheme over the other.  The comparisons made are simply to highlight the main benefits of each scheme.

What easyJet offers between their two schemes is nothing short of excellent, all things considered, especially if you fly from the UK regions where direct point-to-point flying, as employed by easyJet, is so often easier than the older 'hub and spoke' model via Heathrow!